Two Harvard Square 'Institutions' Are Leaving

Bostonians are known for their frozen dessert mania, but not enough of them have been screaming for ice cream to make selling it profitable.

Both the Mass Ave and the Cape Cod Mall branches of Belgian Fudge closed on December 31. Lisa Lorentzian, the store' accountant, said yesterday she will not know until today when--or if--the stores will reopen. The financially troubled chain filed for bankruptcy in April and closed nine stores.

If Belgian Fudge stays closed many Harvard Square residents and students will probably miss the crumbles in Oreo Cookie or the candy in Vanilla Belgian Fudge. But other Square ice cream stores are not sorry. "When Belgian Fudge first opened up, we lost a definite percentage of our business right away," Ed Pershouse, an employee of Baskin-Robbins, said yesterday. "The hope is that we might gain that business back," he added.

Paul Vlachos '82, who works at The Dairy Kitchen, not surprisingly praised Cahaly's ice cream. He said he frequented Belgian Fudge as a freshman, but switched his allegiance. "The best thing about Belgian Fudge was the suggestion board," he added.